Virtual Offices
Are You Making Mobile Office Mistakes?
Published September 14th, 2009 by Jennifer LeClaire
With all the talk about benefits of virtual offices and mobile offices – and there are plenty – its’ easy to forget the potential challenges and mistakes small businesses can face in a virtual office space world.
Mark Mitchell, well known for his reporting on the Consumer Electronics Show, knows plenty about both. So when Mitchell points out 10 mistakes to avoid in a virtual office, savvy entrepreneurs listen. Mitchell listed his top 10 mistakes on MSN’s Business on main. Here is a quick review:
- Not backing up your data.
- Using low-speed Internet connections.
- Slopping work habits.
- The isolation syndrome.
- Not putting together an IT plan.
- Micromanaging virtual employees.
- Not managing virtual employees.
- Not carefully vetting virtual employees.
- Not setting up boundaries.
- Not enjoying the virtual office.
For all Mitchell’s expertise with gadgets, you’ll notice a running theme in this list: three out of 10 have to do with employees. What’s the lesson here? Dealing with virtual employees is a full-time job. Well, for a few quick tips on that front I turned from MSN’s Business on the main to HR Concepts for Small Business. Here’s a review of the tips in an article written by Nipa Shah, president of Jenesys Group.
- Set expectations
- Trust employees
- Offer tools and support
- Create an inclusive environment
- Communicate, communicate, communicate
What is your experience? What mistakes have you made that you’ve learned from in your virtual office? And how do you manage virtual employees who may be distributed all over the world? Let us know so we can all learn together.
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About the Author
Melanie Jones September 14th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Looks like technology and employees are the two top challenges for virtual offices. That only makes sense. If the tech fails, you are out of business. If your employees aren’t productive, it’s the same story. Ultimately, everything in a virtual office comes down to discipline. That’s the theme I see here.
Bill Brookshire September 14th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
I found the isolation syndrome to be interesting. I think this is what largely started the coworking movement. I wonder how many entrepreneurs started off in a virtual office space and then moved to a coworking facility because they couldn’t stand the isolation anymore, especially the creative types.
Maggie Correta September 14th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Sloppy work habits. Well, that’s a given. It’s too easy when you work from home to get lost in the Internet or take a long lunch, or even a long nap. I agree with @Melanie. It’s about discipline. Discipline to get your virtual office technology up and running. Discipline to get your virtual employees up and running. Discipline to stay focused.
Elizabeth Sanchez September 14th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
How do you micromanage a virtual employee? Sending them a million instant messages, I guess. Nobody likes to be micromanaged. My guess is virtual employees like it even less. Most of them are probably virtual employees because they don’t want to work in an environment where they are micromanaged, LOL. Bottom line is that you can make mistakes with any type of office set up. I don’t think virtual office space is any more prone to risk.